I Should be Blogging About Moving, but...

But we haven't posted about The Trek yet and it was way more fun than moving. Wait, it was like moving but not really. Anyway, our excuse to wear hats. I did don the bonnet when required but I avoided it except when the wind was blowing and my head was cold. Not really fashion statement.

Meet Ma and Pa Harrell. Only Dick decided we should be the grandparents so we were known affectionately as Grandma and Grandpa H.

The family. There were three daughter and five sons and they were all terrific kids. Now I understand why families preferred boys - they can work harder - but the girls were so special. And so cute. And then there are allowances for age, personality and body build, but I digress. Ages 12 to 17.

 The daughters.

 Dick and some of the other Pa's.

 The cart on the first day of trek.

 The first of many very cold streams. That's two members of our stake presidency on the two horses which came to be not such a good idea.

 The cart. Very noisy and very heavy but got the job done.

 Fortunately the first day was very warm and so the cool water wasn't so bad.

Fact:  Horses are stupid.
The horse that almost killed Pres. Clayton. He was skiddish and eventually there was an accident which I don't have the details of but Pres Clayton got rolled over on by the horse. He should have shot the horse but it was a rental.

 Fact:  Boys love to carry girls across streams. Who knew?

Fact:  Pa got sick of loading and unloading the cart, but by the third day we had a new system. It was called "let the stake carry some of our extra stuff". Which they should've been carrying all along but we didn't realize it.

Fact:  Starving children are helpful children.
My favorite part besides walking. Cooking. It was all dutch oven and they kids were very helpful. Because they were very hungry by dinner time. Which the first night was about 9pm. Or later if you weren't really handy with a dutch oven. Fortunately I caught on fast and we came up with some shortcuts so our meals were always done asap.

Our stake borrowed these handcarts from the Soldotna Stake who trekked several years ago. They were featured on the cover of the New Era that year. We were Moroni's chosen. Of course.

One of the many, many, many stops along the 25 or so mile trek. (Are we there yet? I need to go to the bathroom! I'm hot! I'm tired! I'm hungry! I need to see the doc!I need sunblock!)

Our stake provided so many fun activities that we hardly had any extra time with out kids. Games, crafts, black powder guns, hair washing by the river, pie and ice cream brought in on four wheelers - as was all the food- square dancing, firesides, a testimony meeting, tons of yummy food, doll making, whittling, and so on. Their dedication was amazing. They must've spent a fortune.

Did we have a good experience? We certainly did. Like the real handcart companies, we had our own set of trials, weather conditions, injuries, dangers, hardships and so on that were dramatic enough to give us a feeling for their circumstances and sacrifice.  Our company was very blessed on many occasions and we observed many of our own miracles during the week. The longer we stayed out in the wilderness the easier it was to imagine what life might have been like. There were some things I preferred and others I missed. I am more indebted than ever to the Pioneers and their perseverance in the face of the unknown.

Lydia's Blessing Day

On the first Sunday in May, David and Valli blessed little baby Lydia Catherine Harrell. She is such a beautiful baby and a sweet one too. We had to rush back to Eagle River from Kenai so that Dick could conduct a silly seminary graduation (who even cares about that when babies are at stake!) so we were only able to get a few pictures afterward.

Such a lovely family, and we are so proud of them.  Madeline had already been scooted off to nursery before we remembered that we should've included her in the photos as well.

 Proud grandparents - but I wish someone had suggested that I take a quick look at my hair. Scary!

 Pretty girls! All three of them.

 Such an angel.

We love you baby Lydia.

I Did It!

Drumroll, please.
I have officially begun the enrollment process for the AVTEC - Alaska's Institute of Technology- Professional Cooking and Baking program to begin August 20, 2012. At around 8:30 am or something insane like that. So, for all of you (a certain daughter or two) who though I would never do it. I did it!

So, you are the first to know. I am waiting for my official letter to inform me of the requirements to complete my enrollment. I have to take a test that shows I understand the English language and I can convert fractions to decimals. Thank heaven for my last job of converting student seminary attendance into percentages or my whole career could be over before it even got started!  That and all the homework I did with five children and a few years assisting elementary school children in math. So I hope I'm ok.  In case you've forgotten, you divide the top number by the bottom one.

Example:  3/4,  divide 3 by 4, equals 75%. It works every time.

WOOHOO!!!

PS! Don't you just love the hats!

The Cruise: Part 1

Here's my Dad in front of his house just as we were leaving to come home. But I wanted to show this picture first because Dad was the reason we came to Florida to come on the cruise. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented us being able to all go together this time. But we had a nice visit and a nice vacation. Dad will celebrate his 80th birthday on April 18th! Go Dad!

 I haven't mastered the new Blogger format so these pics are out of sequence. Will try harder next post. I thought there was a place to edit or rearrange but maybe I imagined that.

This is just off the coast of Grand Cayman. People rave about the Caymans. There are no taxes of any kind on the island because they make all their money from the licenses and permits they sell to the banks in order to have businesses in their country. It appears to be a win-win. You can have a passport to the Caymans if you can prove you have a job making 150K or more a year and own 350K in property on the island. I guess anybody who is anybody owns a condo in the Caymans. Or a hotel if you are Oprah or Donald Trump. I don't quite get it, but I imagine the location (it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from Florida) make it a quick getaway. And a good place to stash all your money! The ships harbor off the coast and we ride these little water taxi's called something I forgot to get to the shore.

 Once you get away from the dock there are many lovely hotels along the main road. And they drive on the left side of the road.

 The little dock where the water taxi's load and unload.

 Another view of the tourist area.

We spent the day at a nice resort called Tiki Beach. We enjoyed a private beach where you aren't bombarded to buy things from the locals, lovely weather, our own beach chairs and a free beverage. I guess they figure people will do anything for free alcohol. The water was warmer than Hawaii, which was nice for me. The Caymans are along a barrier reef so there is lots of coral and snorkeling.

 We really were there!

A typical store front in downtown. Oh, and there are more banks and jewelry stores than you can shake a stick at.

It might be worth a second trip to take some time and get the know the island a little better. Maybe we'd run into Sylvester Stallone or Jennifer Lopez!

Angels Come to Visit

Back in February, two little angels came to visit. This one is baby Lydia and doesn't have her wings yet.



 This one is Madeline and she does.

 But wearing them is such a chore.

 She much prefers the shades.

 And she leaves me treats in my danskos.

We love being able to see them so often.